By the time we went to athletics, life had settled in to a more comfortable routine between us all. I think the group had decided to drop it at school until we could talk about it at home, as they had quit pestering me. Nate had warmed up to my stalking attitude and now conversed with me in classes. I was very ready for a little exercise to get my frustration out. Sophie, Nate (although distanced), and I made our way to athletics. Nate went into a door to the left of the boys locker room and I followed Sophie into the girls. I quickly stripped down and put on a sports bra and Nike workout shirt. I took the cropped yoga pants out of my bag and put them on as well.

"Hey, you ready?" Sophie gently touched my elbow and asked gently.

"Yeah, I am" I smiled. We headed outside to a field where a young human woman in fantastic shape stood with a clipboard and a whistle. I had just finished putting my hair up in a pony tail and was putting on a headband when the coach yelled,

"Take off!" Sophie started running off around the field, but stopped and motioned to me.

"Come one" she waved, "We run all period on Mondays"

"Great" I whispered. As we were running, I noticed the guys running outside and lining up on the football field.

"That's the best part, we get to watch the football guys workout" Sophie chuckled. Jason looked up from his stretch and waved at Sophie, who gently waved back. "Just be subtle, or else Coach Hagund gets angry".

"Gotcha" I spotted Nate stretching his triceps, looking fantastic in a charcoal grey workout shirt and blue shorts. He had excellent calves and I could see the V-cut of his hip where his shirt came up. Wow, he was so...

"-Terri, hello? Terri, pay attention to me! Who are you looking at?!" Sophie was yelling at me. Nate had finally noticed us running and he dropped his arms and stared at us. I gently waved and he jumped, realizing he was staring. He waved back then bent down to stretch and avoid my gaze.

"You were looking at Nate weren't you?" Sophie asked sadly.

"Yeah, I was" I said, "Why is that so bad Sophie? He has done nothing wrong. Instead of shunning him, the pack should be supporting him. Be kind to him. You are all are so blinded by the fact that he doesn't shift that you don't realize that he's inches taller than an Alpha. That he's stronger than an Alpha! That he's just short of a genius! He could be such an asset to this Pack, but no one cares about that, do they?" I asked, jumping over a hole.

"Well, actually, Alpha Alex is that tall", I gave her an exasperated look, "Buuut, I see what you mean. I've never...hated him. I just...followed the ex-Alpha's rules. I don't talk to him and I don't invite him to activities. I never really asked why. It's not my job. I was so shocked that, on your first day, you threw all caution, all you aspirations to stay hidden, out the window for a stranger. If you want to be his friend, that's fine. I can...try. But to be honest, we should wait to finish this conversation until we get home" she smiled at me. I nodded and we continued on our trek.

I finished the day typing on a computer next to Sienna and Nate. The bell rang and I stood up, about to tell Nate I'd see him tomorrow when he said,

"Hey Terri, thank you for today. And I was wondering if maybe you would wear a jersey with my name on it Friday and go watch me play?" he was doing a fantastic job of not looking me in the eyes, but rather staring at the floor and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Of course I will" I smiled at him.

"Oh, that's ok, I'm sorry I-wait, yes? Really?", I nodded with a smile, "Great! then I will give it to you Thursday" he said excitedly. "I uhh, I have to get to practice. See you tomorrow?" I nodded and he ran off with a smile.

"Wow, he's actually kind of adorable, when you look at him" Sienna commented from behind me.

"Yeah, he is" I agreed

* * * * * * *



Two hours later and I found myself surrounded by five very confused, frustrated, and anxious teenagers who looked like they wanted to strangle and/or comfort me.

"What are you thinking?!" yelled William

"No yelling!" Jason yelled, then corrected himself, " no yelling, we promised". Sophie nodded deftly. "Terri, I know you're new here, and you don't really know how things go, so we just want to explain things very quickly and clear this misunderstanding up" Jason started.

"Umm, actually, I think my 'newness' has saved me and I would like to explain why before you tell me why I should ostracize an innocent person" I state calmly.

"Well that's-" Jason started but Sophie interjected with, "I think you should let her speak first Jason".

He looked at her in confusion, but when she nodded, affirming what she had said, he turned to me.

"Tell them what you told me today" Sophie encouraged.

I planned on telling them that and so much more. At this point, I knew I had one friend for sure, so if they decided to reject me once they knew the truth, then so be it. It was bound to come out anyway on the next full moon or training class.

I took a deep breath, "I was born... with a mutation on a mutation" and for the second time today, I told someone my greatest secret.

* * * * * *

"So, if you can't be friends with Nate because he's a freak, then you can't be friends with me either" I stood, once I was done, about to leave, when Brett stood up,

"Sit down" he said gruffly and pointed to the couch, "You're not leaving. She's not leaving" he said, looking at everyone.

"He's right, you're not leaving" Jason finally said," we liked you as a person long before we knew you didn't shift. It's not important. I think its time we ended the ban on Nate, and its about time we stopped this ridiculous crap about him being a freak. He is one of the strongest guys I have ever seen and he is always protecting me on the football field. He protects everyone, even though they treat him badly. I know he's a good guy. It just took a good girl to show me that we need to end this" he finished.

"I'm sorry, Terri. We should have seen this before. It's like we knew it was wrong because we never bullied him, but we could never quite get to the part where we befriended him. And that's because we were afraid. When you talked to me about him today, I felt really guilty. And...to find out that you're the same? That just proves he's not a freak, he's just one in a million. Very rare but still there" Sophie smiled and rubbed my arms.

"So" William stated, "I was angry, surprised, guilty, shocked...and now I want you to show me your powers, bring it on!"

"Hell yeah!" Brett yelled







Thank you for reading! Please, comment and vote! Put up a comment on what you think is going to happen next and tell me what you think about my casting choices! The Pack House on the side!